KALAMUNDA’S Zig Zag gallery is featuring an intergenerational exhibition until January 4, bringing together celebrated Noongar artist Peter Farmer Sr and his son Peter Farmer Jr’s new works on canvas.

At its heart are the artists’ deeply personal connections to their ancestral totems which is the blue wren, known in Noongar language as Chirriger, and the great white shark, known as the Kwilla.

These are presented alongside the element totem for fire, known as Kaarl.

Totems are guides connecting people to culture, language, and lineage.

Through their art, the Farmers are inviting audiences to reflect on the strength of Noongar identity and its evolving place within contemporary art today.

Mr Farmer Jr said the totem is a family’s animal.

“It represents your family and represents yourself,” he said.

“It’s something that (we’re) encouraged to not just look after but to learn from.

“You gain a lot of strength from understanding the great white a bit more.

“It’s just about learning about the world through your totem and it also encourages you to have a bit more connection to your country, your land and the world.

“With Noongar culture, your totem is recognising where your own strength lies.

“You know, the fierceness of the great white isn’t that it’s menacing or terrifying, rather, I look at its strength.

“That fierceness of the great white is about as much as me looking at myself.”